Social network heavy drinking moderates the effects of a brief motivational intervention for alcohol use among injured patients

Background: Limited research has focused on identifying the extent to which social networks impact the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions delivered in trauma care settings. Objectives: The research presented here examines the extent to which the percent of heavy drinkers and percent of abstainers in one's social network moderates the effectiveness of a brief motivational intervention with and without a telephone booster on alcohol use among trauma patients. Method: Secondary data analyses were conducted using data from 596 participants (456males) who were recruited from three urban Level I trauma centers. Patients were randomized to one of the three intervention conditions: brief advice (BA; n = 200), brief motivational intervention (BMI; n = 203), and BMI with a telephone booster (BMI + B; n = 193). For the purpose of the present study, measures of alcohol-specific social network characteristics at baseline and alcohol use at 3- and 6-month follow-up were used. Results: At low percentages (0% to similar to 7%) of people in one's social network who are heavy drinkers, there was a negative, statistically significant effect of the BMI conditions versus the BA condition on alcohol use. However, percent of abstainers did not moderate the effects of the BMI conditions. Conclusion: The results suggest that the BMI and BMI + B conditions may be most effective among patients with no heavy drinkers in their social networks. BMIs may benefit from including a component that addresses having one or more heavy drinkers in one's social network.

Automated summary

This study examines the impact of the percentage of heavy drinkers and abstainers in one's social network on the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions among trauma patients. The results suggest that interventions may be most effective when patients do not have heavy drinkers in their social networks.